Facts
On 18 February 1975, around 10 pm, on the Geneva-Lausanne motorway, a police patrol observed that the Maserati vehicle driven by [B.] was travelling at a speed of at least 162 km/h, while the dashboard lighting was out of order. [B.] was reported to the Prefect of Nyon and fined 220 francs. He filed an objection, but withdrew it before the investigating judge, who nevertheless decided to continue the prosecution ex officio.
The District Police Court of Rolle convicted [B.] on 23 October 1975 to five days' detention and a fine of 500 francs for a serious violation of traffic rules. This judgment was confirmed on 22 December 1975 by the Criminal Cassation Court of the Vaud Cantonal Tribunal.
[B.] then appealed for nullity to the Federal Tribunal, concluding for the sentence to be set in application of Art. 90 para. 1 RTC and for the granting of a suspended sentence.
Considerations
The Federal Tribunal dismissed the appeal. It considered that, although the failure to have a speedometer readable at night is not in itself a particular source of danger, the fact that the driver was driving at a speed far exceeding the authorized limit without being able to control his speed constituted a serious violation of traffic rules.
According to the Federal Tribunal, Art. 90 para. 2 RTC applies as soon as a user has abstractly created a serious danger to the safety of others,…